T

he State Palace has played down speculation that the government is facing an imminent coup attempt, saying President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s tour to the nation’s armed forces was mainly aimed at showing the people that the country is safe.

Hashtag #kudetagagal (failed coup) went viral a day after a major Jakarta rally held on Nov. 4 and only hours after Jokowi himself said that “political actors” were behind the largest demonstration the country has seen in more than a decade.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said on Tuesday that there was no attempt to topple the President.

The President’s dialogues with various elements were “aimed at calming the public, since [public] anxiety would likely undermine the ongoing economic reform”, he said.

On Tuesday, Jokowi visited the headquarters of Air Force’s Special Forces (Paskhas) troops in Bandung, West Java.

During his visit, Jokowi instructed the Paskhas to show loyalty to the state, maintain stability and play a part in maintaining the country’s diversity, echoing calls he had made during recent visits to other elite military forces.

Later that day in Bandung, Jokowi gathered more than 450 commanders of regional military commands and military districts from across the country and instructed them to help give the people a sense of security.

Speaking to reporters after his visit to Paskhas, Jokowi said that a series of visits he had made to military and police headquarters were meant to provide security assurances and not instill fear in people.

“[The armed forces] are ready to safeguard the state, to safeguard the nation. [The visits] are aimed at calming the [people]. The country is safe, very safe,” he said.

Jokowi, who is continuing his tour this week and is set to visit the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) on Wednesday, even revealed that the government was working on what he called an “address to the nation” to calm the public.

Only about a week after the Nov. 4 rally, a former terrorism convict linked to the Islamic State (IS) movement allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a church in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, killing a toddler, Intan Olivia Marbun, who died of severe burns. It was the second attack on a church in the past four months and was likely aimed at inciting sectarian violence.

The President, who has never served in the military, has been seen flexing his muscles as the highest commander of the country’s armed forces a number of times since the large-scale protest against non-active Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who has been accused of blasphemy. Ahok is a Christian of Chinese descent.

The President has also met with numerous Muslim groups and ulemas to hear their aspirations and at the same time consolidate Muslim leaders amid speculation that another large-scale anti-Ahok rally might take place next week, with protesters who had joined the previous rally insisting they would not stop their calls until Ahok was prosecuted.

The National Police is set to announce the results of the case screening in Ahok’s case on Wednesday, in an unconventional police case screening ordered by Jokowi after the Nov. 4 rally.

On the sidelines of his working visit to Semarang on Monday, Jokowi invited a number of local ulemas to a meeting similar to one he has had recently with representatives of Muslim groups and three Islamic-based political parties, following the Nov. 4 rally.

Jokowi’s tour, Pramono added, was also aimed at ensuring Muslims did not stage another massive rally next week and to call on the people to respect any decision the police made in Ahok’s case.

“Because this country is a state based on the law,” Pramono said.